Life of a Soldier
by PietasterSkeletone
Summary: Ever since Cuba, Sean and Alex have been best friends, but when a new empath mutant comes to the academy, she threatens their new bond in an unexpected way, digging up their pasts and forcing them both to face what they've been through.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever, so please don't hate on me too much...anyways, this is an introduction more than a first chapter, just to sort of set the stage. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! :) - PietasterSkeletone**_

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><p>"You owe me a dollar," Alex whispered from where he and Sean were perched on the grand staircase, hiding just out of sight while Professor X briefed a new student on the school.<p>

"Fine." Sean forked over the wrinkled bill.

"I knew the new recruit would be a girl," Alex smirked, pocketing the money. "But I didn't think she'd have purple hair."

"It's…a statement." Sean shrugged. "At least it'll take some of the flak off of my red hair."

"You have Irish roots, people understand."

"No, you understand, I-"

"Mr. Cassidy and Mr. Summers will be glad to show you around, seeing as they've been spying on us since you walked in." Charles turned up at the foot of the stairs, rolling his eyes at the boys. "You two can hide all you want, but I can still hear your thoughts."

"Oh." Sean blushed. "Yeah, kinda forgot that one, oops!" He shrugged it off, eyeing the new girl as she joined Charles at the base of the staircase. She was tall, really tall, taller than himself, at least and skinny with purple hair and green eyes. It was definitely a look.

"Well, this is Lacey, she's an empath. Lacey, this is Alex Summers and Sean Cassidy, they were two of my first students, and they will help you get comfortable." Charles smiled and wheeled off, leaving the three students.

"An empath, eh?" Sean tilted his head to the side. "What's that?"

"I can sense the emotions of the people around me," she stated.

"Wait…" Sean gulped. "S-seriously?" He stood up, backing up a few steps instead of moving closer.

"Yeah." Lacey nodded, smiling.

"Great, that's so cool, um, I just remembered, I left something in my room that I really, really need. Bye!" He took off up the stairs, leaving Alex and Lacey standing together.

"That was weird." Alex frowned. "He's really friendly, I promise, that wasn't like him, maybe he's not feeling well or something. He's a fun guy, you'll really like him."

"So he's not always running off like that?" Lacey asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, not at all, something must be wrong with him. Like I said, he's probably got like a stomach ache or something."

"Nope." Lacey shook her head. "It's not a physical thing. He's sad."

"What are you talking about?" Alex shook his head. "Sean's not sad, he's like…the happiest guy I know! He's always cracking jokes and having a good time."

"Maybe on the outside," Lacey stated. "And maybe it's just today, but right then, before he ran off, he was sad."

"But that doesn't make any sense, we were having a good day! He was laughing and flying around and-"

"He can fly?" Lacey asked.

"Sort of, he screams and he rides the sound waves – it's complicated, but really cool." Alex sighed. "But he's sad? You're sure? I mean if you're here, you can't really be all that in tune with your powers, right?"

"I suppose that I could have messed up," Lacey admitted. "I'm not the most practice, but there was a definite presence of sadness, and it went down when he left, so I'm guessing it was him. Besides," she looked at Alex. "You saw the way he ran when he heard about my power. He's hiding something from you, and I think his emotions might be just the thing."

"But…" Alec frowned. "Why would he do that? I'm his best friend, if he's sad, I want to help him…"

"Look, I just got here, I don't have all the answers, but my suggestions? Talking to him might be the best, tell him you know about his emotional issues and then maybe he'll just come to terms with you!"

"Yeah, later, right now, I'll show you around, okay?"

"Alright." Lacey nodded. "And for the record, I think it's nice."

"Think what's nice?"

"How much you care about him." Lacey smiled. "Empath, remember? I can tell how worried you are right now, and unless you think the sky is about to start falling, it's a pretty safe bet you're worried about your friend."

"Oh." Alex bit his lip. "Yeah…anyways, this way to the rooms, we'll get you settled and then I'll show you the grounds." He took off around the house, not sure how he felt about Lacey. It was going to be rough having someone around who could always tell where his emotions were.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, Lacey went to Sean's room. Alex had told her where she could find the red head, and she had decided to try and talk to him, maybe help him get through the pain that he was feeling. She had sensed mainly worry from Alex, but of course, after all that he had been through, it was clear that the blonde was in pain as well. However, after sensing the compassion he had for his best friend, she felt it may be easier to help him after she helped Sean. While she knew that it wasn't her job to fix these boys, if they were going to be her new companions, she wanted everyone to be in the best place possible, especially if they were training to save the world like Charles had said.

"Go away," Sean called as there was a knock on the door.

"Sean, it's Lacey," she called, leaning against the door frame. "Can I please come in?"

"No."

"Sean, I already saw what you wanted to keep from me." She sighed, hoping that those words would be enough to get the boy to let her enter the room. "Come on, Sean. I'm not trying to upset or hurt you."

"Fine." Sean opened the door, looking tired, his eyes red. "Come in, but shut up, will you? I don't want anyone knowing."

"Alright." She entered, sitting down at his desk chair. "So no one knows?"

"Knows what?" Sean asked.

"Now isn't the time to play innocent," she stated. "I can sense how you feel, Sean. I know how sad you are."

"No, okay? No one knows," Sean snapped. "And I'd like to keep it that way, so I would appreciate it if you would keep your mouth shut. Especially around Alex. Charles doesn't know because I've been careful, really careful, about what I think about when I'm around him, and I know he'll only read our minds if he feel like he has a reason to worry." He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lacey. "Do NOT give him a reason to worry about me."

"I won't," Lacey said softly, moving over to the bed and sitting next to Sean. Even sitting she was a good deal taller than him, and that combined with the fact that she clearly knew more about him than he wanted her to made him very uncomfortable.

"Did you tell Alex?" Sean asked, inching away from her, not wanting her to know anymore about him than she already did.

"I did." She nodded. "He wanted to know, Sean, he's really worried about you."

"Get out." Sean turned to her, frowning. "I said I didn't want anyone to know! Especially Charles and especially, especially not Alex! He has enough of his own shit to deal with, he doesn't need to know mine!"

"Sean, I'm trying to help you." Lacey attempted to keep her voice even.

"I don't want your help. Get out. Now. I don't know if Charles told you what I can do, or if Alex did, but you don't want to get me angry, because when I raise my voice, hell breaks loose."

"Alright, Sean, I'm sorry." Lacey stood up. "I'm sorry that I read you, it's not my fault that I can do that. I'm here to learn how to control it, but I'm not quite there yet…obviously." She sighed. "And I'm sorry that I told Alex, but he wanted to know. He cares about you, friends are like that."

"I don't care." Sean frowned at her. "You put your nose in other people's business and that's not right. I don't want you around me."

"Okay, but if you change your mind, if you want to talk about this, you know where to find me." She looked at him. "But even if you don't want to talk to me, talk to Alex, okay? He's more open to your past than you think."

"Just get the fuck out," Sean snarled, wondering why girls never seemed to take a hint, even when it was being shoved right in their faces. He didn't want her there. She upset him, she made him uncomfortable, and if they were ever going to be able to work together well, she was going to need to respect his space.

"I'm going, I'm going." Lacey opened the door and slipped out, gasping as she found herself facing Charles.

"I'm assuming that did not go as well as you had hoped?" Charles asked, wheeling himself down the hallway as she walked beside him.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you about it," Lacey replied.

"He thinks I don't know because that is what he wants, so that is what I let him think, but we chose him from the other mutants that Cerebro tracked because he wasn't happy in the life he was living. I never wanted to uproot someone who was happy where they were."

"So you know?" Lacey frowned. "And you haven't done anything to help him?"

"I have been helping him," Charles answered. "Some people just need time, and Sean and Alex are both like that. They are very closed off individuals, and their friendship, while built on trust, does not have to do with the past. They got to know each other here, and they both went on a limb for the other in Cuba. After that, they started to bond, but they both want so badly to forget everything that happened before they came here that they never talk about it and they both try not to think about it."

"Why are you telling me this?" Lacey asked.

"Because." Charles shrugged. "I can read thoughts ,but they can control their thoughts to some extent when they know that I'm round. You can sense what they're truly feeling, something that cannot be masked, no matter how much acting they do."

"I'm not going to spy for you," Lacey stated. "I don't have any friends here yet, and I already have one enemy."

"I'm not asking you to spy for me." Charles shook his head. "I just want you to try and be there for them. Maybe they won't talk to me or each other, but they might talk to you. It will take them some getting used to, but since they can't bluff with you, they may come around. Then again, both of them seem to have trust issues with women."

"Why?" Lacey frowned. "That's sexist."

"We had two girls here when we first started out, a girl named Angel and my sister, Raven. They both left for the Brotherhood and Angel tried to kill both of them in Cuba."

"Yeah. That would lead to some trust issues." Lacey let out a low whistle.

"Just…be there for them, alright?" Charles smiled kindly at her. "I don't want you to feel pressured, but if they're going to work with you, they need to trust you, and right now, they don't."

"What about Hank?" Lacey asked. "He didn't seem to have any problems with me."

"Hank is more mature." Charles laughed. "Of course he reacted badly to becoming Beast, but he has adjusted now and he understands why we're all here. He's smart enough to know how to control his emotions."

"Well at least someone around here does." Lacey sighed.

"I know that some of my students are very troubled," Charles explained. "But if they weren't here, they would be far worse off."

"You're doing a good thing, Professor." Lacey smiled. "Thanks for letting me be a part of it."

"Anytime." Charles nodded politely at her and headed off, leaving here wondering what to do next. These two boys were both hiding a lot, and she was the only one who could get to the roots of their real problems…at least that was how Charles had made it sound.


End file.
